NEW ORLEANS — Top U.S. fuel pipeline operator Colonial Pipeline has shut its entire network, the source of nearly half of the East Coast’s fuel supply, after a cyber attack that the company said was caused by ransomware.
The incident is one of the most disruptive digital ransom operations ever reported and has drawn attention to how critical U.S. energy infrastructure is vulnerable to hackers.
The shutdown has raised fears of a price spike at gasoline pumps ahead of peak summer driving season if it keeps going.
Colonial transports 2.5 million barrels per day of gasoline, diesel, and jet fuel through 5,500 miles of pipelines that runs through Louisiana linking refiners on the Gulf Coast to the eastern and southern United States.
President Joe Biden was briefed Saturday on the shutdown.
A White House spokesperson said the government is working to help colonial restore operations and to avoid disruption to fuel supplies.